Fishing McCutcheon Creek for Rainbow

Fishing McCutcheon Creek near our home in Spring Hill last week brought back memories of fishing some of the warm water streams in Mississippi years ago as a boy. Those early years found me using a cane pole and worms landing sunfish and catfish in a lot of the streams I fished there. Last week I was armed with my 3 weight Redington; ready to land a few stocker rainbows. I notice I was the only one using a fly rod. There were a lot of eager fishermen waiting with a spinning rod and reel ready to “clean plow” fishing the small stream. The majority of the 150 trout that were stocked on that Friday were all caught and taken home for a meal by the fishermen at the end of the day.

The trout were released in 2 to 3 ft. depths

Nothing like seeing the thrill  on a child's face once they land a fish

Colton with his first rainbow on the fly rod---congrats Colton on a job well done!!

Colton help me land numbers of rainbow this size, all were release for other kids to enjoy

Colton with his Dad Wesley after they landed this huge rainbow using the spinning reel and a crappie nibblet as bait. Colton's dad told me he had never fished for trout before. We watched it swim away after a hero shot.

Ken, the Hatchery director told me when they arrived that he bought 10 of these big fish for the young kids to land. What made me really sick was seeing 4 of these big trout in metal nets dead caught by adults. A lot of metal nets were filled with trout before I left for lunch. The practice of catch and release was not in place on this day!!! 

McCutcheon Creek

Fishing For Bluegill With Bryson

Our daughter brought the grandchildren Bryson and Laelyn down this week for a visit. Bryson was all ready for another trip to the local pond near our house to land some more bluegills. The humidity, gnats, and mosquitoes were just too abundant for an afternoon trip so we opted for an early morning outing, which worked out much better for both of us. I worked on his casting skills on this trip for a little while, until I decided it was too hard for him to master at this time. I don’t want to rush him into doing anything that he is not interested in doing. There are always other trips that will help him with his fishing skills.  

Got to get those red worms dug before we can land any bluegills. Digging for worms is about as much fun as landing the bluegills.

Selecting that just right fat worm. Bryson said it had to be a fat worm so he went through the dirt until he found that fat worm

First fish of the morning on that fat worm, this fish really had to be inspected, we looked at the eyes, gills, and fins

This fishing is hard work, time for a quick snack, with peanut butter and cracker

Got to have that water too

Standing on the soft moss lifting this bluegill from the water's edge

He has learned how to land his own fish now, when that float goes under he knows to retrieve that fish 

Trying not to lose that worm

This fat worm received the name "Oscar"

Sparing Oscar's life; he gets to go home with Bryson, this can is his new home

A fun afternoon fishing with Bryson!

An Eventful Evening of Fishing With my Grandson

Getting to fish with my Grandson last weekend was a hoot to say the least. It brought back so many memories of some of my first trips with my son and daughter. We lived in Tupelo Mississippi at the time and we would go out to the local park on Sunday’s to walk the trails and of course fish for the bluegills that were stocked in the small 3-acre pond.

Well, all of those memories came back to me when Pops and his Dad carried Bryson out for his first fishing trip Saturday afternoon. His Dad told me on the way to the small pond that I was in charge of letting Bryson land his first fish. I had been talking to him for some time about this memorable trip and he was ready and pumped to go, to say the least.

We begin the journey by digging for night crawlers or red worms in the backyard. The name didn’t matter to Bryson; all he wanted to do was grab the worm as soon as we unearthed one and pull it apart. I kept telling him we needed the whole worm to make a nice meal for the fish, but his theory was that if you break the worm into, it would make 2 baby worms. So with that sound explanation in mind, we continue to dig for worms until we had enough for the evening fishing trip. Upon arriving at the little pond I notice there was some small bluegill still bedding in the shallows near the bank. So I showed Bryson how to bait the hook and we made our first cast towards the beds. I had explained to him that once the bobber goes under he needed to start reeling because that meant he had a fish on. We were lucky to be fishing in a pond that had lots of bluegills, because, within a few seconds, Bryson had his first fish with his Pops. I must admit it was a teaching experience for him to get the hang of reeling that first fish in, but after the first catch, he got better.

We battled mosquitoes, gnats, and extremely high humidity, all afternoon, but Bryson was a trooper and so was his Dan and Pops. For me, the elements were minor on this trip, because I got to teach my Grandson about the joys of fishing and how to enjoy the outdoors. I am looking forward to our first fly rod outing when he gets a little older.

One of many bluegills fisherman Bryson landed for the afternoon.

Is this little guy excited or what????? He is already asking Pops when are we going again.
Hope all Dad's have a great Father's Day!!!

Getting Our Kids Involved in the Outdoors

I did a post back last spring concerning kids fishing and the lack of interest by the general public and the huge sporting goods stores not promoting kids to get into fishing. Well I have been seeing more and more fishing outings for kids now than I did this time last year. No it is not because I did a post concerning this problem, but I think the big sporting goods stores are realizing that they are going to need these kids in the coming years to replenish the aging fishing population that will be occurring in the coming years. Sure there are still plenty of distractions to keep kids off the water fishing but I think it is improving. An example of getting kids involved in fishing is the recent article I came across recently. I hope that I keep seeing more of these articles and groups and organizations willing to devote their time to our kids.

Local children participate in fishing derby,

10/18/2010 - South Side Leader
By Maria Lindsay
Photo courtesy of Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition SOUTH AKRON — Cargill Inc. — Salt Division (Akron), Cargill Global Partnership Fund and the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition (OECC) sponsored the Cargill Bluegill Fishing Derby and Fit Kids Walk along the banks of the Ohio & Erie Canal at the Manchester Road Trailhead

The purpose of the event was to provide school children with an opportunity to experience outdoor recreational activities, according to OECC officials. Children enrolled in Akron Public Schools were invited to participate, as well as children living in Coventry Township.
The Cargill Bluegill Fishing Derby, a catch-and-release event, offered participants the use of fishing poles and bait provided by the Cuyahoga Falls Walleye Club.
After the fishing derby, Summit County Councilwoman Paula Prentice (D-District 8) and Debby Rolland, of the OECC, led a half-mile Fit Kids Walk. Participants also were provided with healthy snacks and beverages, as well as an opportunity to win raffle prizes and a bicycle from Eddy’s Bicycle Shop.
Shown at right at the event are, from left: (first row) Peter and Mary Dolensky, and (second row) Prentice; Debby Rolland, vice president of the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition; and Henry and Peggy Dolensky.
Corporate sponsors for the event also included OMNOVA Solutions Foundation, Forest City Enterprises, Bridgestone/Firestone Trust Fund, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, PNC Bank and Towpath Credit Union, along with numerous individual donors.
In September, Summit County Executive Russell Pry, in collaboration with Summit County CounBcil, sponsored a resolution acknowledging National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, according to county officials. By doing so, officials encouraged citizens to become more aware of the issue and urged parents and/or guardians to promote physical activity among children.

These types of events are much better for out kids than the  watching T.V or playing computer games. A big thumbs up to this organizations.

How Can We Get Our Kids Into Fishing????

I recently wrote a post on kids and fishing on February 18th. To be more specific I was wondering why there are not more kids out on the water fishing these days. This really concerns me because we are losing a whole generation of children to the wilds of present-day technology. I thought it would be interesting to have my wife do a fishing survey at her school. She conducted the survey in two of her classes’ simply asking one question. How many of you go fishing? What she and I found out were not surprising to either of us. She had 26 students in each of the two surveyed classes and found out that only 5 students really went fishing. That is 5 students out of 52 students. The five students who fished told her that their dad took them fishing when they were able to go. The parent is the first link to getting the child out of the house and interested in this great sport. I would have never got into fishing if it had not been for my dad. He fished and therefore he taught my brothers and me the sport. I still have fun memories of taking my son and daughter out on their first fishing trip. They both still fish with me today when they find the time. Take a look at my slide show and you will see both of them along with my son-in-law who loves the sport as much as I do. The following links Teach Your Kids to Fish and Reasons to Take a Kid Fishing give great examples of how one can get a child interested in going fishing and what to do to make it an unforgettable trip as opposed to a boring trip. Please take a moment and complete the survey question. I will run the survey until the fall. The data that is collected will be sent to Bass Pro, Cabelas, and Grander Mountain.

Where has all the Young Fisher Kids Gone?????

I don’t know if you’ll have noticed or is it just me, but I am seeing fewer and fewer young people on the water fishing these days. I find this disturbing because so many of our kids are not outdoors enjoying nature but instead inside the house playing computer games and watching T.V. I wonder if the fishing industry is aware of this situation or just blind to the fact that their fishing customers will last forever. In recent years there have been clinics, bass tournaments, fishing rodeos, and other events used to try to stir the interest of the young, without much success. The fishing industry has to compete these days with all the technology the kids have at their fingertips. How do you compete with the far fetched video games, the outrageous T.V. programs, and of course computer games??? I must admit I don’t have the answer and I really don’t think anyone else does at this stage. I would like to hear what your opinion is on this subject. I have added some interesting links to attest to what I am talking about. A great article from Fish and Boat. Check out this link Fishing With Your Child which talks about hunting in decline as well as fishing among the young.